All posts tagged ‘lotr’

Kickstarter has been a boon to creators seeking to do their own projects rather than bringing them to one of the main publishers. Among my recent favorite comics have been Gail Simone and Jim Califiore’s Leaveing Megalopolis, Jamal Ingle’s Molly Danger, and Monstrology, An Anthology of Monsters. Two of those three projects are fully funded, while Monstrology is close. There are a few days left on that campaign, so if monsters are your thing, check it out.

One other project I’m really excited about is Dominion’s Light by Brandon Easton, a fantasy story by the author of Shadowlaw, a comic story I loved earlier this year. Dominion’s Light is set in a world where their version of the Bible can unlock the secrets of time, space, energy and matter. Everyone wants that book, not all for the same reasons, and the quest to obtain it pulls in all the main characters, heroes and villains alike. It’s a big fantasy epic with a touch of dystopian future to it.

Given how well Easton handled the complicated concepts in Shadowlaw while still providing memorable characters, I’m very eager to read this story. Unfortunately, with only a couple of weeks to go, it’s not near full funding yet. Items available to backers of the Kickstarter include a PDF of Shadowlaw for $10 to print copies of Shadowlaw for $75, the two planned Dominion’s Light novels, two promotional prints and a Dominion’s Light t-shirt. Continue Reading “Dominion’s Light Is a Little Bit Tolkien, a Little Bit Bladerunner” »

The wait for a truly fun video game based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings is finally over. The newest in Traveller’s Tales Lego video game series hits store shelves today, and it’s based on the Peter Jackson movies based on the books. The game promises to be true to the plot and feel of the stories while adding some humor that the Lego video games have become known for.

Alas, I can’t yet tell you what I think of the game, as my review copy won’t arrive until later today — come back to GeekDad later this week for my full review. But from everything I’ve seen thus far, and from my conversation with Nick Ricks, the game’s executive producer, I have every expectation that it will meet the high expectations of fans of both Tolkien and Lego, which is saying a lot. I’m particularly looking forward to the use of actual dialogue from the movies in the game, which combined with the detailed backgrounds of which you can see examples in the screenshots below should really help players immerse themselves in the Lego version of Middle Earth.

But wait, there’s more: You can enter to win a copy of the video game for your very own! GeekDad has three copies — one each of the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii versions of the game — to give away to lucky readers. Use the entry form below to enter; note that you must select a platform — you can enter the giveaway once only, and you must choose which version you want. One entry will be chosen at random from the group of people who picked each of the consoles as the winner of that version. As usual, the giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Winners will be chosen at 11:59pm Eastern Time on Friday, November 16, 2012. If for any reason the entry form below doesn’t work for you, you can enter here instead.

The newest addition to the Lego line of tabletop games has been announced, and it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that it ties in with the most anticipated movie of the rest of this year. I refer, of course, to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The game, which I will be reviewing soon, is loosely based on the beginning of the Hobbit story, and involves Bilbo, Gandalf, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili searching the holes of Hobbiton for the other ten dwarves. (Yes, I wonder, too, why Thorin isn’t one of the dwarves doing the searching.) As usual, the “board” is built from Lego pieces, and the dice are buildable as well.

To celebrate the launch of the game, Lego is going to start a “Roll to Win Giveaway” on the LEGO Games Facebook page! Beginning a week from today, October 8, fans get to roll virtual dice for the chance to win various prizes.

The game should be hitting store shelves soon. Tune back in to GeekDad next week for my review of the game.

Lego Lord of the Rings Minifigs, on display at London Toy Fair. Photos by Nathan Barry

Toy Fair season is upon us now, with the London one running this week, Nuremberg starting next week and finally the biggie in New York on February 12th. I went for my first time as “press” and here are my favorite things from around the exhibition floor.

1. Lego
I’ll be honest here, I could have written this entire post about all the cool stuff Lego has coming our way this year, and theirs was the only stand I’d actually booked a slot to look around. Talk about a kid in a candy store!

Hulk and Captain America Minifigs

First up was the Super Heroes section, which featured the new Batman sets we already knew about and also a Superman / Wonder Woman set. On the other half of this room were some brand new Marvel sets, all tied in to this summer’s Avengers movie. The five sets (out in April) feature Captain America’s Avenging Cycle, Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown with Magento and Deadpool (Wolverine’s claws are a nice touch here), Loki’s Cosmic Cube Escape with Hawkeye and Iron Man, Hulk’s Hellcarrier Breakout with an ace Hulk jumbo-fig as well as Hawkeye, Loki and Thor and finally a huge Quinjet Aerial Battle pack with Black Window, Thor and Loki and Iron Man.

The next room had a new line launching in time for Halloween: Monster Fighters. The fighters are all 1920s/30s styled figures in art deco/steampunky vehicles and the monsters are the classics: vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. Highlights of the range include Dracula’s amazing Hot Rod Hearse, Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab complete with operating table, and a flying ghost train.

Lego Lord Of The Rings Minifigs, on display at London Toy Fair. Photos by Nathan Barry

Toy Fair season is upon us now, with the London one running this week, Nuremberg starting next week and finally the biggie in New York on February 12th. I went for my first time as “press” and here are my favorite things from around the exhibition floor.

1. Lego
I’ll be honest here, I could have written this entire post about all the cool stuff Lego has coming our way this year, and theirs was the only stand I’d actually booked a slot to look around. Talk about a kid in a candy store!

Hulk and Captain America Minifigs

First up was the Super Heroes section, which featured the new Batman sets we already knew about and also a Superman / Wonder Woman set. On the other half of this room were some brand new Marvel sets, all tied in to this summer’s Avengers movie. The five sets (out in April) feature Captain America’s Avenging Cycle, Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown with Magento and Deadpool (Wolverine’s claws are a nice touch here), Loki’s Cosmic Cube Escape with Hawkeye and Iron Man, Hulk’s Hellcarrier Breakout with an ace Hulk jumbo-fig as well as Hawkeye, Loki and Thor and finally a huge Quinjet Aerial Battle pack with Black Window, Thor and Loki and Iron Man.

The next room had a new line launching in time for Halloween: Monster Fighters. The fighters are all 1920s/30s styled figures in art deco/steampunky vehicles and the monsters are the classics: vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. Highlights of the range include Dracula’s amazing Hot Rod Hearse, Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab complete with operating table, and a flying ghost train.

The Star Wars section had a ton of great new sets for the summer, including a proper minifig scale X-Wing and a Tie Fighter, an escape pod from the Tantive IV, a Gungan sub (with an incredible minifig of Queen Amidala in full royal garb), a massive model of General Grevious’ flagship (the Invisible Hand or maybe the Malevolence), and huge set of Jabba’s Palace (complete with Salacious Crumb!). Also out this year is a new collectible range, Star Wars Planets — the hook here being that all the pieces come in a two halves of a planet. They include a unique minifig and the model is of a vehicle from that planet, a fighter from Naboo, a Pod Racer from Tatooine etc. After you assemble the model, you can hang the planet spheres form your ceiling and make your own galaxy far, far away. And if you loved last year’s advent calendar, then you’re in luck again this year.

Of course the details everyone wants are on the new Lord of the Rings license and I can safely say that if you love Lego and LotR, then you won’t be disappointed. The image at the top of this post shows the whole Fellowship in minifig form and they look fantastic. Even though these are obviously renders and not photos, I can tell you that the level of detail in the minifigs is incredible, right down to the painting of the ears — which are actually on the hairpieces for the goblins, orcs, elves, etc. The Precious is present in all its shiny glory, as is its former bearer Gollum. There are seven sets in the first wave, all available in August:

Marty Allen of geek rock juggernaut Uncle Monsterface described Peter Jackson’s cinematic retelling of Tolkien’s classic trilogy as “a nearly perfect adaptation.” Even now, nearly a decade after the first film hit theaters, those words still ring true.

But I will level with you, internet; though I braved the crowds to see the original theatrical run and ponied up the dough for the initial DVD releases, I was never really drawn in by any of the other myriad of home video iterations. This, it turns out, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. On June 28th Warner Bros Entertainment released what could be aptly termed the definitive edition of The Lord of the Rings films, and I found myself impressed by the sheer size of the offering.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition Blu-ray collection actually collects all the best from the previous editions into one handsome package. First and foremost the films themselves are newly re-mastered and available in 1080p with DTS HD-MA 5.1 audio, and, since this is the extended edition, you get all the supplementary footage included on the previous Platinum Series DVD collection. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s an additional two hours of overall playtime for the trilogy itself.

Earlier this week Warner Home Video and Best Buy co-sponsored Middle-earth Midnight Madness in Los Angeles, a countdown to the release of the new Blu-ray version of The Lord of the Rings The Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition. Featuring cosplay, fireworks, lasers and special guests John “Denethor” Noble and Sala “Sauron” Baker, it was a big event for a big release. Not only does this new Blu-ray iteration stretch over 15 discs, but the winner of the night’s costume contest received a very special prize, a VIP “Tour of Middle-earth” that includes an all-expense-paid trip to New Zealand courtesy of Air New Zealand and Weta Workshop.

Check out the video embed below for a look back at Middle-earth Midnight Madness, and look for The Lord of the Rings The Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition on Blu-ray at your retailer of choice. A full review of the product is forthcoming, but with six discs of the films themselves and nine more packed with bonus content it could, y’know, take a while.

If earlier this afternoon you felt a lightness in your step, if you thought you faintly heard the collective geek consciousness of the world let out a relieved sigh, we know the reason why. Rejoice, friends, for it seems the tumult that has been plaguing the filming of The Hobbit is finally being resolved in the best of all possible ways!

Yes, word has reached us via the good folks at Sci Fi Wire, who had the news from Deadline New York, that Peter Jackson is in negotiations to take the helm of the movies (it will be made in two parts). To virtually anyone who saw the Lord of the Rings films, this can be nothing but good news. Some of us geeks were unhappy when Guillermo del Toro quit the project, and some of us were pleased; but all of us, I think, were nervous about who might be hired to replace him. We can finally get the neekerbreekers out of our stomach, though, for our worries have (it seems) proved unfounded. Assuming the deal gets done, of course, but it seems unlikely they’d let it leak unless it was close to signed.

Now, we just need to hold our collective breath waiting to see who’s chosen to play Bilbo. And we need to lobby to get Wil Wheaton signed to play Bard the Bowman.